AFTER DENGUE AND EBOLA, IT'S JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS!
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QUICK RECKONER Q: How do you get it?<
Through the bite of a mosquitoes that are infected by the JE virus.
Q: Can it be transferred from person-to person?
No, the virus cannot be transmitted this way, that is, from touching another person. It is a vector-borne disease.
Through the bite of a mosquitoes that are infected by the JE virus.
Q: Can it be transferred from person-to person?
No, the virus cannot be transmitted this way, that is, from touching another person. It is a vector-borne disease.
Watch out! There's another
deadly infection that could grip the city which is
already reeling under dengue and malaria. It's Japanese
, Encephalitis -a viral fever that affects
the brain. Reports surfaced over a month ago of a nine-year-old girl
from Santacruz possibly suffering from this infection and this was
confirmed by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, who also
confirmed the presence of Culex Tritaeniorhynchus -a mosquito, which
spreads Japanese Encephalitis. While it was thought that these
mosquitoes do not breed here, the larvae were found in a grassy area
near the child's home after search operations were launched there.
HOW IT AFFECTS A PERSON
The girl was admitted to a hospital in Mahim over a month ago with altered sensorium and paralysed extremities (hands and legs).“We had sent her cerebrospinal fluid for testing to NIV and a second sample came back positive,“ says city-based neurologist Dr Neelu Desai. “No other cases have been found yet, though,“ she adds.
JE was earlier seen in the hinterland, but is now spreading to bigger metros,“ informs chief consultant physician, Dr Pradeep Shah. “When there is high fever and suspicion of encephalitis, doctors are asking for JE CSF test (fluid taken from spine) along with other tests for dengue and malaria. This is a viral antigen test. JE produces a defused inflammation of the brain, which can have serious outcome. It is crucial for the patient to be tested. I had three patients recently of herpes encephalitis, which is different from JE. But the latter is a possible scare, too, as we have several breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the city,“ he adds.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
The National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme has listed out the signs and symptoms for Japanese Encephalitis:
JE virus infection may result in illness associ ated with neurological symptoms ranging from headache to meningitis or encephalitis.
Symptoms can include headache, fever, loss of coordination, meningeal signs, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, tremors, paralysis (generalised), hypertonia, coma etc.
In the acute encephalitic stage, symptoms noted are prodromal phase convulsions, alteration of sensorium, behavioural changes, motor paraly sis and involuntary movement. Usually lasts for a week, but may prolong due to complications.
Some patients lead to full recovery through steady improvement and some suffer with sta bilisation of neurological deficit.
`PREVENTION STARTS AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL'
While this is a worrisome thing, the care and prevention towards it really starts at the individual level, says Dr Falguni Parikh, consultant -internal medicine. “For one, people must get rid of stagnant water near their buildings -we have seen so many mosquito-borne illnesses of late that we must ensure we demolish all breeding grounds by clearing the area and having regular fumigation and fogging done. We also tend to have plants and showpiece fountains in our houses and leave water around -these can be a breeding ground, too.Cleanliness is the bottom line here; we have to stick to it so things don't reach a mammoth proportion,“ she says.
The girl was admitted to a hospital in Mahim over a month ago with altered sensorium and paralysed extremities (hands and legs).“We had sent her cerebrospinal fluid for testing to NIV and a second sample came back positive,“ says city-based neurologist Dr Neelu Desai. “No other cases have been found yet, though,“ she adds.
JE was earlier seen in the hinterland, but is now spreading to bigger metros,“ informs chief consultant physician, Dr Pradeep Shah. “When there is high fever and suspicion of encephalitis, doctors are asking for JE CSF test (fluid taken from spine) along with other tests for dengue and malaria. This is a viral antigen test. JE produces a defused inflammation of the brain, which can have serious outcome. It is crucial for the patient to be tested. I had three patients recently of herpes encephalitis, which is different from JE. But the latter is a possible scare, too, as we have several breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the city,“ he adds.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
The National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme has listed out the signs and symptoms for Japanese Encephalitis:
JE virus infection may result in illness associ ated with neurological symptoms ranging from headache to meningitis or encephalitis.
Symptoms can include headache, fever, loss of coordination, meningeal signs, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, tremors, paralysis (generalised), hypertonia, coma etc.
In the acute encephalitic stage, symptoms noted are prodromal phase convulsions, alteration of sensorium, behavioural changes, motor paraly sis and involuntary movement. Usually lasts for a week, but may prolong due to complications.
Some patients lead to full recovery through steady improvement and some suffer with sta bilisation of neurological deficit.
`PREVENTION STARTS AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL'
While this is a worrisome thing, the care and prevention towards it really starts at the individual level, says Dr Falguni Parikh, consultant -internal medicine. “For one, people must get rid of stagnant water near their buildings -we have seen so many mosquito-borne illnesses of late that we must ensure we demolish all breeding grounds by clearing the area and having regular fumigation and fogging done. We also tend to have plants and showpiece fountains in our houses and leave water around -these can be a breeding ground, too.Cleanliness is the bottom line here; we have to stick to it so things don't reach a mammoth proportion,“ she says.
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